Just a Dream
by windwhisprer
Summary: .:oneshot, hinted ST9:. Over the years, the dream had more life than life itself. Soon it was as real as reality...


**A/N: **A fic that I came up with. Make of it what you will. Please leave your comments.

**Just a ****Dream**

Here, he was God.

He stood in the center of the battlefield, casually strolling along the destruction. His white boots were covered in blood and mud, along with the lower half of his white pants. He supposed that white was a silly color to wear when charging out into the midst's of battle, however it seemed to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. Standing there completely clothed in white, complete with his tattered cape and fingerless gloves, he looked like an angel of death. A gold band wrapped around his skull, not tight enough to restrict him, but rather to announce his status. With long brown hair and slit golden eyes, all those who looked upon him knew true terror. All he was missing were the wings.

He was as powerful as heaven itself. With his staff in his hands, no one could defeat him. He had been peaceful until he felt the anguish of the Earth screaming in his ears as she wasted away. He hadn't been able to handle his Mother's anguish. He had realized there, over five hundred years prior when Goku and himself were locked in that cage, that he would have to do something to save her.

He knew he had to destroy all those who were hurting the Earth. He saw no way around it.

However, with the Minus Wave and visions of heaven assaulting him, he could not focus long enough to fulfill his task. Whenever he was free, he just found the need to destroy. There was no pattern at all. He couldn't control his bloodlust in the least.

However, here, he could. In this haven, he had played out how he would do it. Over and over as the years passed by. In the safety of Goku's mind, he began to dream up ways to destroy all those who would hurt his Mother. However, over the years the dream had more life than life itself. Soon it was as real as reality.

It had taken its own course. And, he found, strange enough... that he was not alone in this quest.

"My lord?" called a voice from behind him. He turned, a bored expression lining his features. He didn't much like to be interrupted after a battle. His army had managed to push back heaven's forces, for a short while. His Generals should know that after a battle he felt the need to stroll through the bodies, mostly to clear his mind.

His highest ranking General stood behind him in confusion. Brown eyes seemed concern, large and staring up at him owlishly. Short brown hair stuck out of his black top as he fingered the folders in his hand. The young general's name was Gohan. He looked so much like Goku that Seiten actually called him Goku several times. Often Seiten was caught between killing him and crushing their lips together in a fierce kiss. The latter feeling always confused him.

"What is it, Gohan?" he asked with a wave of his clawed hand, looking back out over the battlefield. His own men had fallen with the gods that dared attack him. It had surprised him when he learned of others that wanted to help his cause. However, he hadn't been against allies. The more men, the greater his chances of succeeding.

"Well, sir, you've been out here a while, and there's some important news I thought you should know..." he said, glancing down towards the ground as Seiten's eyes settled on him.

Goku would've never averted his eyes.

"What's the news then?" he asked, taking several steps towards his general.

Gohan fingered the folders again.

"Perhaps you should bathe first. And eat. It would be best if you were fresh."

Bad news, then, Seiten figured.

He headed right past Gohan, towards their encampment set up in the distance. "If it's as important as you claim, Gohan, then I see no reason to hesitate. Come, gather the others."

Within twenty minutes Seiten found himself sitting in a large comfortable chair in front of a table. The table had documents and folders and maps set over it. His four generals stood in front of him, for the most part looking nervous.

Gohan was the youngest of his generals, though the highest rank. Next to him was Senzi, the second highest. The man had been blinded some battles back, and so his normally blue eyes were wrapped with bandages. His long blond hair was tied back in a low ponytail and a cigarette dangled in his fidgeting fingers.

Next to him stood Uten, with a bright, almost blinding smile on his face despite the dire situation. The man's brown hair hung just below his shoulders, but was done back in a braid. He had glasses that perched on his nose, save for the framing was slightly bent and one of his lenses was broken. Seiten didn't even know why he even bothered to wear them.

Lastly was his lowest ranking general Gyun. The man's dark hair was cut short, with blue eyes that shifted about the room nervously. He finished off one cigarette, putting it out before lighting another one. Seiten cocked a brow at his chain smoking habits, still looking for the most part, bored.

"Well gentlemen," Seiten called, his eyes moving over each other them. "What do you want from me?"

Gyun, Uten and Senzi all turned to look at Gohan. The young man fidgeted, stepping forwards. "Well, my lord..." he trailed off, rolling his brown eyes. "We have a problem."

Seiten didn't look the least bit affected by the news. He simply blinked. "And?"

"We have about two thousand men at the moment," Senzi said, taking a lazy drag of his cigarette. "At best. More than a quarter of those are injured, and we haven't even counted the dead from our last battle."

"With the gods alone..." Uten continued, stepping up towards the table to a large map. "If we're here," he placed a tack in the area of their encampment. "The gods have stations here, here, here, here, here..."

The other four men watched as the tacks continued to poke into the map. "Here, here, here, here," Uten continued. "Here, here, here, here and here."

Seiten stayed silent, keeping his eyes glued on the map before them. He looked at the tacks set out in a large circle around them. All the tacks were white, and theirs was red.

"And then we add in the demons and humans," Gyun continued, placing in more black tacks. Seiten watched as they all started to fill up the page. Eighteen human/demon encampments sat scattered around. "The humans and demons do not work with the gods, but they aren't against each other. They're two separate sides... against us."

Again, Seiten kept his eyes glued to the map. It didn't look good. "Is there no way to send for reinforcements?" Seiten asked finally, turning his gaze up towards the generals.

They all shifted where they stood. "Uh... I'm afraid not," Gohan finally spoke up. "The gods and demons won't let anything through. Besides, by the time they got here, we would've been destroyed."

He words hung heavy on the five men. Seiten's gaze was glued to the table.

"So," he said quietly, his voice sounding abnormally loud in the tension. "You're saying that we're doomed."

"In a matter of speaking, sir," Uten said, his smile slipping.

The silence descended on them once more, and Seiten sighed. He could already feel a headache beginning to course through his skull. "How much time do we have?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Until tomorrow morning," Gyun said, putting out his cigarette. "Both the gods and the human/demon alliance are planning to strike at dawn."

Again, silence descended over them. The sound of Gyun's lighter in the still tent was abnormally loud, causing a few pairs of eyes to turn to look at him. Finally, Seiten got to his feet with a sigh, looking the four of them.

"Round up all men who can fight and prepare for the attack at dawn," he said dully.

"My lord!" Gohan called as Seiten paused at the entrance to the tent.

Seiten gripped the side of the tent. "I'll see you in the morning," he said quietly, before he slipped outside.

Seiten found himself not long later wandering out in the battlefield among the bodies of his fallen soldiers. It always did prove to clear his head. As he wandered through the mud and the blood, Seiten realized he felt numb. Losing had long ago lost its sting. Seiten realized that in this fantasy world, every time he died, he was sent back to where he made his mistake. No one else seemed to remember, but he did. It was always his job to figure out where he made his mistake so he could correct it and ideally win his war.

No one got much sleep that night.

Seiten found himself seated outside his tent with Uten early that morning. The sun hadn't risen, and Seiten was enjoying the moments before his imminent death. Uten didn't say anything to him and Seiten was glad. He merely kept his eyes closed, enjoying the soft breeze that blew over him.

It wasn't long before he was joined by Gohan, Senzi and Gyun. The five of them sat quietly, listening to the sounds of their camp awakening, if any sleep was had. The men stood and waited for his order. Seiten said nothing, keeping his eyes closed and his hearing tuned to the land.

Finally, he heard it. The sounds of tens of thousands of men marching towards them; the sound sent a shiver down Seiten's spine.

"Are you loyal to me?" Seiten finally asked his generals, opening his eyes to make sure none of them were lying to him. He asked the same question very time he knew he'd lost.

"Of course," they all replied sincerely. Seiten wondered as he let his eyes drift over the five of them, if he could ever do anything that would make them stop believing in him. How many times had he inadvertently led them to their deaths?

After a delayed moment, he motioned to Gyun, and he rounded up the troops. Seiten stayed put for a moment after everyone had left. He got to his feet, surprised to find Gohan next to him. The young man placed a hand on his arm, giving him a smile before he turned and disappeared after Senzi.

The battle went off without a hitch. Gods, humans and demons all charged them, and they were ready.

His men fought their hardest, but they were still tired and weak from their last battle. Many went down within the first hour. Seiten tirelessly killed and killed and killed, using his claws and his staff and the power of the earth itself. He took down as many gods as he could, since he knew that they were harder for his companions.

Uten was the first of his generals to fall. He was attacked from all sides, and five different swords skewered him. Senzi was the second. He was very good at fighting while blind, however even he couldn't stop the blow from coming to his head. He scrambled to escape the oncoming blow while searching for his weapon, but in the end was pinned down and shot.

Gyun came next. A god with a whip attacked him, wrapping the deadly cord around his neck. It had been strangling him until Gohan managed to free him from its bounds. As Gyun tried to catch his breath, he was run through form behind.

Gohan was the last to die. He and Seiten had been fighting quite well, using each other and blending their attacks to take down their enemies. However, one of the humans pulled a gun.

Gohan may have been fast, but he couldn't dodge a bullet.

Seiten didn't even realize he'd fallen. He continued to fight, feeling a smirk curl on his lips. Perhaps they had a chance after all. However, when he called out to Gohan and there was no answer, he turned around, trying to spot his general. He saw nothing but bodies. Something began to tug on the inside of his chest as he searched for his general, cutting down all men in his path. Finally, he spotted Gohan, lying down in the mud amongst several other bodies.

Seiten froze, letting his staff drop as he fell down next to the boy. He turned him over, hearing his heart pounding in his ears as he looked down at the crumpled boy in his arms. Gohan's eyes were half open, staring up at Seiten listlessly. However, instead of the familiar brown eyes, gold stared back at him. They began to droop, the last bit of strength leaving him as Gohan silently died in his arms.

How many times had he watched Gohan die? How many times had it nearly ripped him in two to watch this boy slip away from him? Seiten felt his hands shaking as he silently placed Gohan's delicate form on the ground. He placed a clawed hand to the side of his face, feeling the skin go cold beneath his fingers.

With a yell of fury, Seiten bolted back into battle, tearing out any throats in his way, whether or not they were his men. He doubted any of them were. Most of his men were dead.

His death was swift, yet mind-blowingly painful. It was Nataku's sword that did him in, as it was every other time.

---

Seiten awoke with a gasp, sweat cloaking his shaking limbs as he literally was pulled back from the depths of death. His hands immediately went to his stomach where moments ago Nataku's sword had been. When there was nothing but sweat there, Seiten let out a deep sigh. It had happened. He'd died, and his world had brought him back to the turning point. Back to where it could all be turned around.

For a moment, he sat in the darkness of his tent, trying to recall when exactly this was. There was nothing really in his tent save for his bed and his desk not far from him. The candles were dimly lit, the last of them flickering out. That was strange, he thought, he usually wasn't irresponsible enough to leave his candles lit.

There was a soft groan next to him and Seiten's eyes snapped over, taking in Gohan's form in the dim lighting. The young man was as naked as he was, curled against his side. An arm was thrown over his waist. Seiten's eyes darted from Gohan's peaceful face to the rest of the bed and then over to his desk.

That's right. It was after the Battle of the Ninth, where they had taken down eight of the god's camps. It had been the one and only time Seiten had given in and taken Gohan to his bed.

Clearly, that wasn't the mistake, or his world would've taken him to the night earlier. Seiten shook his head at himself, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep at this rate. He got out of bed, dressing himself in some light pants and making his way out of the tent.

The grass beneath his feet was slick with dew and it was still far too early in the morning for anyone to be up. He made his way through tents, his hair a mess and full of sweat. He was willing to bet his face was still pale. It always rocked him when he died. He never got used to it.

He was surprised to see Senzi up, sitting outside one of the tents. The man was already dressed, looking as proper as ever as he poured himself another glass of red wine, drinking it down. Seiten was glad to say that the man had not yet been blinded as he looked out over the early morning sky.

Seiten approached him, causing the other man to look over at him. "Morning," the other man grunted as he took a drink from his wineglass. Senzi never was good at formalities, but Seiten never cared.

Seiten sat down next to him, grabbing himself a glass of wine as he took a deep swig. The men sat in silence for several moments until finally Senzi spoke up. "The gods are still reeling from our surprise attack. The day after tomorrow we go after the demon/human camps, right?" he asked.

That was what Seiten had decided on. His eyes narrowed as he took another drink from his wineglass. However, if that as his mistake... "No," he finally decided. "The gods are able to recover faster, and they'll want retaliation from this blow to their ego. We continue our assault on the gods until there's nothing left. Then we handle the humans and demons."

"They might attack while we're ignoring them," Senzi pointed out.

"We won't ignore them entirely," Seiten said as he leaned back against the tent. "However, our main focus will be on the gods."

Senzi stared at him or a long moment before a smirk cracked along his lips. "Why the change of heart?" he asked slyly.

Seiten didn't like that tone. "Do you question me, Senzi?" the demon growled.

Senzi shook his head, knowing when to back off. Seiten leaned back, looking up at the sky as gradually it began to lighten.

Perhaps this time, his dream would be a dream no longer.

_---_

_"Goku!" _

_Goku awoke with a gasp, sweat trailing down the side__s__ of his face. He took in deep breaths as he looked up into concerned crimson eyes. He blinked a few times as the light of the day assaulted him, feeling his neck and back muscles cramping up. That usually meant he fell asleep in the Jeep. Goku took a few moments to regain his composure, glancing from Gojyo's concerned face to Sanzo and Hakkai, who were both looking back at him. _

_He was lying awkwardly in the Jeep, looking at the three of them. It looked like Hakkai had actually pulled over. _

_Hakkai cracked a nervous smile. "__You were crying out in your sleep and thrashing around, Goku. Are you all right?" he asked sweetly. _

_Goku took a few more moments,__ c__losing his eyes. Strange images assaulted him from his dream, however they were all chopped up and he had forgotten most of them. "Just..." he said quietly, moving to sit up. His head spun, but he ignored it. "Just a strange dream..." _

_None of them looked convinced, but Hakkai started the Jeep anyway t__o__ continue their journey west. _

_Goku let out a sigh, regaining control over himself. He let his gaze drift out over the landscape as they continued westward. In his mind's eyes he saw that encampment again with Seiten Taisei, his generals, their plight__ the battles and destruction they had caused. _

_It unnerved him to some extent, but he shook it off. It shouldn't matter. _

_It was just a dream, after all. _


End file.
